Payal Tadvi Suicide Case: 'Tu Chhoti Jaat Ho Ke Hamari Barabari Karegi Kya', Accused Told Tribal Doctor
Two months after the alleged suicide of government hospital doctor Payal Tadvi, chilling details have emerged from her suicide note and witnesses' statements. Late in the evening of May 22, Tadvi was found hanging in her hostel room, sparking off a huge controversy.
Mumbai, July 26: Two months after the alleged suicide of government hospital doctor Payal Tadvi, chilling details have emerged from her suicide note and witnesses' statements. The suicide note reveals that Payal Tadvi was subjected to casteist slurs by the three accused — Hema Ahuja, Bhakti Mehare and Ankita Khandelwal. Two employees of BYL Nair Hospital and Tadvi's roommates also testified against the accused doctors.
"I hold Hema Ahuja, Bhakti Mehare and Ankita Khandelwal responsible for the condition of me and Snehal [fellow student Snehal Shinde]," Tadvi, who belonged to the marginalised Tadvi-Bhil community, wrote in his suicide note. In her statement, Snehal Shinde claimed that Ahuja allegedly continued to “taunt” Tadvi while standing outside her hostel room, unaware that she had committed suicide. Payal Tadvi's Suicide Note Recovered From Her Phone, Says Her Lawyer.
According to a report by The Indian Express, Shinde said Tadvi received a call from Ahuja minutes before she was found hanging in her hostel room. She said Ajuha had called her when Tadvi was not opening the door. Payal Tadvi Suicide: Bail Applications of Accused Junior Doctors Rejected by Mumbai Court.
"I rushed to the eight floor. Hema and Bhakti were already standing there. I also attempted to knock on Payal’s door and called out to her but there was no response. At that time, Hema was saying to Payal, yeh bhagodi hai kya? Himmat hai toh saamne aake baat kar. Aise chupkar kyun baithi ho (Are you a deserter? If you have courage, come out and talk. Why are you hiding)'," Snehal has said in her statement.
A Class IV employee working in the gynaecology department of BYL Nair Hospital also said that Tadvi was subjected to casteist slurs by the three doctors. He said that in March 2019, around 9.30 pm, when Tadvi was checking on patients, Ahuja and Mehare had arrived there and said, “Aye Adiwasi… tu idar kyu aayi hai? Tu delivery karneke layak nahi hai, tu hamari barabari karti hai (You tribal, why have you come here? You’re not competent to perform a delivery, and you are trying to compete with us).”
A helper in the gynaecology ward also witnessed a similar incident. In his statement, he said that Tadvi had been reprimanded by the three accused doctors in December 2018. They had allegedly said, “Ye kaam kon karega, ye tera kaam nahi hai toh kiska kaam hai? Tu chhoti jaat ho ke hamari barabari karegi kya (Who will do this work, if this is not your work then whose is it? Coming from a lower caste, you think you are our equal)?”
Late in the evening of May 22, Tadvi was found hanging in her hostel room, sparking off a huge controversy. While her family alleged that the three senior medicos were responsible for her death by harassing her on grounds of her minority tribal background, the accused have consistently denied the charges, claiming they had merely pulled her up for inefficiency in work.
The Mumbai Police filed a multi-volume chargesheet naming the three accused. The three accused women medicos were absconding since the FIR was registered, but were arrested from different parts of the city on May 28-29.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 26, 2019 10:04 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).